During Grease
by smilesugar
Summary: Chelsea meets Louis Tomlinson at her audition for Grease, the Musical. She quickly falls for him... unfortunately, Louis has a girlfriend. How do you keep a heart from breaking when the one you love doesn't love you?
1. Chapter 1

**During Grease:**

Chelsea walked onto the stage, holding her script, her arms slightly shaking. No matter how many times she'd done this, it sill made her shake with fear. Regardless, she forced away the butterflies, held her head high and walked to the centre of the stage.

This was it. This was her only chance to impress everyone. She took a deep breath, and gave the director her prize winning smile, "Hi, my name's Chelsea, and I'm here auditioning for the role of Sandy."

Chelsea began her monologue, she had chosen a classic piece: Luisa's monologue from Fantasticks; it was probably overdone, but for sweet and innocent Sandy, it was perfect.

"Lovely! Can you sing for us?" the director bellowed.

He was a big man, almost bald but always smiling. He was the type to play Santa in a movie; or, as Chelsea preferred to think of it, the type that were easy to win over.

"Of course! What would you like me to sing?"

"Something simple… twinkle, twinkle little star?"

"Of course!" She looked straight at him as she sang, and the look he gave guaranteed it; she was getting the lead.

Once she finished her piece, she smiled sweetly at the director as he said, "Thank you, we'll be in touch."

She breezed off the stage, smiling to herself. She was in her element when she performed; that was where she belonged! Being a part of something like a play made her feel apart of something special; especially a classic like Grease! She knew the cast would be phenomenal, as they always were with musical theatre, but she also knew that she had been incredible. She was a shoe in for Sandy.

She was humming to herself as she packed her bags and got ready to leave, until she heard a voice… A beautiful voice! She put her bag down, and walked up to the stage door, pressing her ear to the door, so she could listen. It was a boy's voice, but one she hadn't heard before. She was fairly well acquainted with the theatre people of Doncaster... why hadn't she ever heard this voice before? The answer was simple: someone new was auditioning…

_ Poor boy. He'll never get a role._ She knew how the theatre worked; you never got a role your first time auditioning. It was a simple fact; however incredible this boy's voice was, he wasn't getting in.

The voice suddenly stopped, and Chelsea jerked upright and scurried away from the door before the boy could leave. She should have already been gone, but she had to know who he was, so she sat on the bench and played with her phone until the door finally opened and revealed the mystery singer…

_ Wow._ Chelsea thought. He was beautiful! It was almost as if his beautiful voice had been projected into his looks as well! He had brown hair, swept up and to the side, a blue and white striped shirt, red pants and suspenders… and he somehow managed to pull it off. _That_ was impressive. Chelsea had never met anyone capable of pulling off something like that.

It was in that moment that she knew she _had_ to get to know him. So, as he walked by, she said, "You were incredible by the way." And smiled that sweet smile.

The boy looked slightly surprised, "You heard me?"

"Yeah, just scoping out the competition." She said jokingly, "But seriously, you were good!"

"Thanks babe! I didn't hear you, but I'm sure you were great."

"You're to kind! I'm Chelsea, by the way." She extended her hand to him.

"I'm Louis, nice to meet you." And he took her hand.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

One week later, Chelsea was pacing in her bedroom, waiting for the call. Why hadn't the director called yet? It had never taken anyone this long to get back to her, even when she only got minor roles; callbacks were always a day or two after the audition. Chelsea began to worry… what if this director didn't pick her for anything? What if Sandy was given to Nelly?

That would be worse than her not even getting in! Nelly had always been her biggest competition; she had a beautiful voice, she was stunning and everyone, including Chelsea, liked her! It was hard not to! But at times like this, when she was stressed out over roles, Nelly would be the one she'd get mad at. The girl was too perfect.

It had always been Nelly as the lead, and Chelsea as a supporting role. Nelly got every lead… why couldn't Chelsea? It was infuriating! No matter what she did, Nelly was always one-step ahead of her… her voice, styles, personality… everything just screamed: STAR. Why couldn't Chelsea's?

She picked up the phone and called Nelly, hoping she hadn't gotten a call either.

"Hello?" a sweet British accent answered.

"Hey Nel, it's Chelsea. Have you heard back from the directors yet?"

"Chelsea! I was just about to call you! I haven't heard a thing! I'm starting to get really nervous!" Chelsea could feel the stress seep out of her body; if Nel hadn't heard anything, no one had.

"I may go to the theatre tonight and see if they posted anything."

"Oh! Great idea, can I come?" her voice was so sweet. It was impossible to hate this girl.

"Sure!"

"Great! You're house is on the way, so I'll just pick you up in a couple hours?"

"Perfect!"

"Oh, and a friend of mine auditioned, so I may call and see if he's willing to come as well, if you don't mind!"

"Not at all! Bring whomever you'd like! It'll be a party!"

After the phone conversation, Chelsea begun to feel a bit better about the audition! Maybe she still had a chance? At least she could hope she did…

Two hours later, a freshly showered Chelsea emerged from the bathroom with her curly, dark- red hair and dressed in black leggings, leg warmers and a light blue hoodie. Something she had learned was that the theatre always translated into comfy clothes… she never spent too much time getting ready if she didn't have to.

Of course, waiting for Nelly to come was a stressful task in itself; Chelsea was getting nervous… what if she hadn't gotten a role? It was no longer a want for roles it had become a _need_. The theatre was where she belonged… nothing else could compare, without it… she was nothing. She needed this, and the anxiety would kill her until she found out whether or not she got it.

She had totally zoned out, thinking about the role, when the doorbell finally rang, catching her off guard. She jumped, sighed and went to the door.

"Hey Nel!" Nel's bright face appeared behind the doorway. She, like Chelsea, had chosen to dress comfy, in sweats and a pick jumper. She had dirty-blond hair, with light brown low-lights and bright blue eyes. Basically, the girl was flawless.

"Shall we?" Chelsea called as she grabbed her purse and locked the door. When Chelsea turned around, she noticed Nel had in fact brought a friend with her… She couldn't make out his face, but he was sitting behind the steering wheel, in a red car.

"Who's your friend?" Chelsea asked, as she opened the door.

"Oh, this is Louis!" she chirped, as she sat in the passenger seat.

"I didn't know you two knew each other!" Louis' voice rang out, as he smiled at Chelsea.

Chelsea laughed, "I didn't know you knew Nel either!"

The drive to the theatre should have been stressful; Chelsea should have been fidgeting and trying to find a song to calm her down, but she loved the ride there! Nelly, Louis and herself laughed the entire way there! Louis was hilarious! Every second sentence, Chelsea found herself laughing.

Despite Louis' slow driving, they arrived in the theatre within minutes. All three hopped out of the car and ran inside. Chelsea's heart began beating faster… her nerves had caught up to her!

But before any of them could say a word, the director's voice rang out, "Ah! My stars! I was about to call you!"

This was it, the moment of truth. Who would get the role, and who would have to pretend to be happy for the other? Suddenly, Chelsea regretted coming with people, having to smile and push away tears had never been easy for her…


	3. Chapter 3

"I suppose you youngsters all want to know if you got in?"

_He said youngsters… oh my god…_ Thought Chelsea, her mind seemed to have shut off, leaving her with her pointless and sometimes stupid comments.

"Oh we'd love to!" piped up Nelly. Chelsea wondered how she could stay so cheerful under stress.

"Well, young man," he looked over at Louis and smiled, "You are our Danny!"

Chelsea's jaw literally dropped! It wasn't because she wasn't happy for Louis; she was ecstatic for him! She was just shocked that he got in on his first ever audition!

_It was definitely that voice…_

The director snapped her back to reality, "And you Chelsea… how does Sandy's understudy sound?"

Chelsea felt as if nails had stabbed into her heart. She had wanted the role of Sandy so badly! But of course, she hadn't gotten it. Tears threatened to pour down her cheeks, but being the professional she was, she forced them down and thanked the director.

The director finally turned to Nelly, " And for you, my dear, this choice was obvious, Sandy!" It was as if the director was _trying_ to physically hurt Chelsea. Of course the choice had been obvious. When wasn't the choice Nelly?

"Oh my goodness! Thank you so much! I'm so happy right now!" Nelly literally looked like she was going to cry with happiness… the girl was too modest; who else would have gotten the role?

_Not me…_ Chelsea thought.

They all thanked the director and ambled back to Louis' car. Throughout the ride home, Chelsea stayed silent. She plugged her ipod in, and turned it as loud as it would go, trying to drown out any sound from outside. Her eyes wondered and she looked up to see Louis looking at her from the rear-view mirror, his eyes looked concerned. But he didn't care; he barely knew her and she was too gutted to do anything about his bizarre reaction. All she wanted was to get home and cry.

As soon as they reached her driveway, she thanked Louis and congratulated them both on their roles, rather half-heartedly. She could barely contain her tears as she entered her house. She threw down her bag, and sat down, right in the middle of the doorway and began to sob. Her whole body shook as the never-ending tears rolled down her cheeks. She hugged her legs in close, allowing the tears to soak through her leggings.

She wasn't Sandy. She was an _understudy_. Not getting in would have been better than an understudy. That word was a disgrace to her name! Why? Why couldn't she ever get the lead? She was better than an understudy! Her audition had been brilliant!

_But Nel's was better…_ she reminded herself.


	4. Chapter 4

_Nelly_

Nelly really did feel awful getting that role. Chelsea had worked so hard, and the look on her face had made it clear how upset she was. Nelly only wished she could fix it! It had always been that way, she got the leads and Chelsea got the supporting roles. It was a sad thought. In fact, Nelly hated it! She wished that she could have talked to Chelsea about it, but that was definitely the last thing Chelsea wanted.

She hated how biased directors were towards her! It had started out at her first audition… she was only ten years old, but the director hadn't even made her read lines before he had decided she would play the angel in the Christmas production. Nelly had always and innocent beauty, and it always worked in her advantage. That part she understood; she looked the part, so she got the roles.

What she didn't understand was how she had gotten _every_ role. She wasn't type cast; Nelly had played the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wizard of Oz and even Abigail in the Crucible. No, it wasn't her looks that had always guaranteed her positions. But she hadn't managed to figure what it was! Chelsea was just as talented as herself, her singing was definitely stronger then Nelly's.

_ Why didn't Chelsea get Sandy?_ Nelly hated feeling guilty! But what could she do? Acting and singing were her passion, and no way would she give either up! She just wished Chelsea would get a chance!

Nelly continued to ponder this as she made herself lunch. Her parents were out… again… Nelly had learned to live with it, and not complain, but sometimes she just needed someone to talk to. Nelly really didn't have anyone. Everyone claimed to love her, but no one ever wanted her around. She was like a jinx to everyone's life. Nelly couldn't say she wasn't popular, she was. Sort of. Most people didn't have a bad thing to say about her, but she didn't actually have any close friends. She helped out anyone who needed it, but with no return.

And that wasn't a bad thing in her opinion; she liked helping people! It was just frustrating to know that no matter what she did for someone else, they'd never do the same for her.

Nelly sighed and continued to eat her bowl of rice. She hated being lonely. It was hard having everyone know your name, but no one know _you_. She could never explain her joy when someone called or texted her! That's why when her phone rang; she practically leaped out of the air!

_Hey, Chels looked sad… have you talked to her?_ It was Louis. Bless him.

_No. I don't think I'm the person she'd want to talk to. _ It was the sad truth.

_Maybe I should then? Do you have her number? _ The pang in Nelly's heart was completely unnecessary. She wanted to say "NO!", but that was wrong so, she sent him her number…

_Chelsea_

Chelsea wiped her tear -stained cheeks and looked over at her phone, she had a new text. Grudgingly, she opened the text to find Louis Tomlinson had her number.

_Hi it's Louis. You seemed upset today, how are you feeling?_

_I'm fine._ Chelsea responded. She had never been the type to open up to boys, especially when she barely knew them. Besides, he had the lead and he was friends' with Nelly.

_No you aren't. I'm coming over to talk to you._

_I'm not dressed. _It was pathetic, but it was the only excuse Chelsea could think of.

_So get dressed :) _

On some level, Chelsea was glad he was coming; she craved human company at all times, and she needed something to distract her. On the other hand, she did not want to spend time with the kid who got the lead, his first time auditioning. But what choice did she really have?

_You're an actress Chelsea. Put on your happy face. You can do this._ She told herself.

And that's when the doorbell rang…


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey." Chelsea muttered as she opened the door, to let Louis in.

"Hi!" He smiled warmly as he took off his shoes and coat.

There was an awkward silence as Louis attempted to think of something to say. He could see she was hurt by the results, but he didn't think that was a valid reason to sulk. So what She hadn't gotten the lead, she'd probably get the next one. He wanted her to smile! She had such a bright spirit; this ordeal was bringing her down, turning her brightness into darkness. Besides, envy never looked good on a girl.

"What shall we do?" he asked brightly.

"I don't know. Your choice." Chelsea had defaulted to her emotionless voice; it was her way of blocking the world off.

"Well, how about a movie?"

"Sure." She mumbled as she led him to the TV. She felt robotic; every movement was clipped and harsh. Chelsea wanted to smile brightly, but her anger was too over powering.

They sat on opposite side of the couch, as far away from each other as possible. Chelsea wasn't sure if Louis was sitting faraway from her on purpose, or just respecting her space. Either way, she was in no mood to deal with people, so it was definitely a positive for her.

She wasn't exactly sure what movie they were watching, it was some black and white comedy, but Chelsea had no idea what it was about- she was too busy in her own thoughts.

Thoughts can be dangerous, especially when one is left to them alone. She wanted to scream, to tell Louis how much she hated that damn director! How dare he act all sweet then take away what was rightfully hers? Chelsea clenched her fists, trying to fight back her tears of rage.

"You, know, you are talented." Louis said suddenly, breaking her out of her own destructive thoughts.

"You've never seen me perform." Chelsea retorted.

"I've seen Nel's old performances, you're good." He smiled warmly at her.

Chelsea avoided eye contact and mumbled, "Maybe one day." The worst part about tears was when they threatened; it was impossible to stop them.

"You're just being hard on yourself! You can't always get a lead role!" He moved to sit closer to Chelsea.

Something about Louis' words struck Chelsea, she glared at him and hissed, "I can't get any role." Chelsea stood up and marched out of the room.

She stormed upstairs to her shower and let the boiling hot water droplets roll off her. It was Chelsea's way off telling the world to fuck off. She hated being weak. She hated knowing that she was being incredibly rude to Louis, especially when he had been so sweet to her.

_ Fuck it._ She thought. Who really cared? So what if Louis was being nice to her, he would always choose Nelly anyways, so why did she matter? Even the thought of Nelly made her blood boil, how dare that bitch get everything she wanted? Who did she think she was?

Chelsea's anger was sudden, but deadly. She very rarely got angry, and when she did, it was bad. Her whole body was shaking as the water burned her flesh. It wasn't a pretty sight, but it was the truth.

When Chelsea finally came back downstairs, she felt empty. It was as if she had lost the will to fight. All her anger was gone, leaving behind a faint shadow of guilt. She had been awful to Louis. The poor boy probably hated her now. She turned into her living room to see it was empty. Louis was gone.

_Obviously_ She thought to herself, _who would wait so long for me?_

The house felt empty. She felt alone. Chelsea sat down on the couch and let her tears drench her barely dry skin. She was alone, and that was worse than not getting the lead.

Thoughts were dangerous… sometimes too dangerous.


End file.
